Just Like Dad
by RachieFly
Summary: Mako finds a gray hair on his head, much to his chagrin. He thought only old people were supposed to have gray hair...well, maybe because Mako was forced to be old ever since he was young...


_How?_

_How was this happening?_

_It didn't make any sense._

_Was this a sign of some kind?_

_Was this a jest of the spirits?_

_Or were his eyes simply playing tricks on him?_

_A hair?_

_A gray hair?_

_His eyes must've been playing tricks on him._

_._

Mako stared, wide eyed into the mirror in front of him, thoughts like the ones above flying through his head. There, right in the front of his head, stood a single strand of gray hair. He couldn't believe it; he was 18, not 72. He stared at his reflection, hoping that it was just an illusion...that he was still tired from the previous day at the Air Temple and that he wasn't seeing things right. That's what he hoped...but each time he rubbed his eyes, instead of going away, the gray hair looked more noticable to him.

"Wow, you're still looking in the mirror?" Bolin said, as he passed by the bathroom. "I never realized how self absorbed you were."

.

When Bolin didn't hear a response from his brother, he stopped and backed up slowly to the door. He looked at Mako with a raised eyebrow.

"Mako? Hello, anyone home?"

When there was still no response, verbally or physically, Bolin got a little concerned. He walked over to Mako and looked in the mirror as well, trying to see what caused him to go into shock. Before he saw it, Bolin saw his own reflection and grinned as he rubbed his hair.

"I look good..."

.

Mako's facial expression didn't falter and he couldn't seem to pry his eyes away.

"What's wrong Mako, seriously?"

The firebender blinked finally and looked at Bolin as if he just noticed his presence. Then he sighed and turned his attention back towards the mirror.

He pointed to the single strand on his head that stood out. "I have a gray hair...a gray hair..."

"No way! Really?" Bolin said, more excitement in his voice than Mako would've like to hear.

He then grabbed his brother's head and pulled it closer to him so that he could get a better look.

"It is a gray hair! Wow...you're getting old, grandpa."

.

Mako's frown deepened, if possible. "It's not funny...I'm only 18..."

"I'm just messing with you, Mako." Bolin said, once he saw his brother's reaction.

He sighed again and turned to his brother. "I know...I'm just...just shocked and unsure...what does this mean?"

"It means you're stressed, that's all. I read somewhere that stress turns hair gray and other things..."

"Stress?" Mako repeated, as if the word was foreign to him.

.

"Yeah, you know, with everything that's going on. You're worrying about Amon, Korra, Asami, me, Tarrlok and everything else. Not to mention you've been taking care of me since we were kids; that's a big stress factor, wondering if we're going to survive the night or not. It's a wonder you don't have a head full of gray hairs." Bolin gave his brother a small smile and patted him on the back. "So don't worry about it, you'll be fine. You just need to relax...maybe Asami or Korra could give you a massage...or maybe they could both give me a massage!"

Bolin chuckled at the thought and then started out the bathroom and went in search of the two females on Team Avatar to put in his request. Mako took everything that was said to him into deep thought, excluding the massage part.

"Yeah, just stressed...that's all..."

As he stared at the gray hair, his thoughts turned into a flashback of when he saw his parents die in front of him.

.

_"Mom? Dad? Are you okay?" __8 year old Mako stared at the bodies lying on the ground in front of him. He was waiting for a response he'd never get. "Do you want me to get the police?"_

_The only response he got from his parents was the blood that continued to seep out of their fatal wounds. He stared at them for a long time, his stomach twisting and his heart wrenching with every second that passed by. As the seconds grew to minutes, tears formed in the boy's eyes and escaped against his will. He finally moved from the spot he'd been standing in and sat down in between the two bodies. He grabbed his mother and father's hands and held them tightly as he cried._

_"I know you're hurt...but you have to get up...we have to get Bolin; he's across the street, remember?"_

_There was still no response and Mako cried even harder, but his weeping fell upon the deaf ears of the night. _

_"Don't leave us...you can't leave us...Bolin needs you...I need you...what are we going to do without you?"_

_After a few more minutes passed by, the cool air began to chill the young firebender and he so desperately wanted one of his parent's warm hugs. He cried a bit more when he realized he'd never receive another. _

_"Mom? Dad? Mako?" 6 year old Bolin called for his family from across the street. Mako could see a smile on his face...if only he knew..._

_"Stay over there Bolin, I'm coming to get you!" Mako called back quickly, wiping the tears from his eyes. He couldn't let his little brother see his parents like that._

_Bolin nodded and waited patiently while Mako finally let his parent's hands go and stood up. He kissed his mother on the cheek and then kissed his father's head. _

_"I love you guys." _

_He started to go but then stopped himself and walked back over to his father. He reached down and took the red scarf off of him and wrapped it around himself. If he couldn't have a hug, the scarf was the next best thing. At least his father's scent was on it, it would almost feel like an embrace around his neck. Mako__ then walked to the edge of the sidewalk and looked both ways, in preperation of crossing the street. When all was clear, he gripped the scarf tightly and started for his smiling yet ignorant brother._

_"We're going to be okay...we're going to be okay...we're going to be okay...I'll make sure of it..." The young firebender took a deep breath as he approached Bolin. "I'll be strong...just like dad..."_

_._

"Mako!" Bolin yelled to his brother from a different room, breaking him out of his thoughts. "It's time to go patrol Republic City, Team Avatar unite!"

Mako blinked as he came back to reality and realized he was still in the bathroom, facing the mirror. And the gray hair was still on his head. He stared at the gray hair for a minute again, and then at himself as a whole. The hair wasn't bothering or hurting him in anyway. Nor was it extremely noticable...nor did it deplete from his handsome face. It didn't need to be plucked; it was just a good reminder of what he'd been through...and that things could be worse.

.

The stressors Bolin listed off were nothing. Amon? Team Avatar would stop him, no doubt. Asami? He would always be there for her, no matter how he felt. Korra? She definitely was a handful, but he would always be there for her too. Bolin? He took care of him all these years, and he could still do it now. Tarrlok? He would make sure to get a punch in when Team Avatar took him down. Everything else? Nothing...all of the stressors were aboslutely nothing. Everything was going to be fine...he'd make sure of it...

"Bro, did you hear me? When I say 'Team Avatar unite' you're supposed to come!"

"Yeah, yeah...here I come." Mako called back to his brother finally.

.

Mako shut off the lights as he started out the bathroom and towards his friends. Involuntarily, he gripped his scarf tightly as walked at a slow pace.

"I'll be strong...just like dad..."

* * *

_Thanks for clicking on my story, just a random idea that popped in my head and I just had to get it on fanfiction before I imploded...lol...I tried to balance the serious with the funny in the story, did I succeed? Tell me your thoughts...criticism is always accepted here...review and it'd make my day!_

_Oh and one more thing; don't ask me why Bolin is across the street...I couldn't tell you. I just had to make it someway that Bolin wasn't near the death scene..._


End file.
